A few terms that get used a lot around where we live that are worth having an understanding of.
Working Up or Down the Road
A bunch working (swapping off turns at the front) will either have riders peeling off to the right or the left depending on the direction of the wind. This is all pretty much common sense as if the wind is coming from the right of the bunch riders will orientated in an angle to the left behind the lead rider. This is called working “up the road” and the lead rider will drop back to the right of the other riders after completing their turn. If the wind is coming from the left, then the opposite will occur and the riders will be working “down the road”.
Riders will often yell “Up the road”, to get the lead rider to move further to the right. This is because in a bigger bunch there will only be a certain amount of room before riders further back cannot get “a sit” and are forced to ride in the wind in “the gutter”, riding on the edge of the road not getting any protection form the side wind. When working “down the road” there is a danger that in their attempts to get a sit, that riders will move into the oncoming traffic lane.
When working a group might either “roll over” or ride a pace line and do “track turns”. Rolling Over is where the lead rider is constantly changing and the group appears to be “rolling”, the riders “turn” at the front is just a few seconds. It is essentially two pace lines riding in parallel with one moving forward and one moving back relative to each other. In Europe this would be a “rolling echelon” but Aussies just say rolling over and don’t use the word echelon much at all.
“Track Turns” involve doing an extended turn at the front of from 50 to several hundred meters before calling the next rider through with a flick of the elbow. This looks like a single pace line where rider dropping back after their turn does this alone prior to re-joining the back of the line.
The decision re which one to use can be complicated. Generally a bigger group will “Roll Over” while a small group is more likely to do track turns. In either case the aim should be smoothness, where the rider on the front slowing down brings the next rider through rather than the second rider speeding up.
A bunch of experienced riders will look very smooth and organised no matter which style they are riding. They will ride with minimum gaps between riders and will quickly get out of the wind when they have done their turn. Riders will not surge but will only vary the pace enough to ensure that they can get back into a sheltered position as quickly as possible – starting to match the pace of the bunch for instance when dropping back when riding “track turns” so that they do not have to accelerate too hard to get back on as the rest of the bunch passes. Good riders will also pre-empt a change in wind direction when going around a corner by moving to the correct formation without this having to be stated. If the wind is a head/side wind from the left and the bunch is working down the road, a 90 degree left hand bend will mean that the wind will be side wind from the right after the turn and the bunch is going to have to ride “up the road”. Good bunches will not have to negotiate this, the lead rider through the turn will have already anticipated that this is going to happen and will move to the right of the road on existing the turn.
In handicap racing the difference between the speed of the bunches is as much to do with how well they can organise themselves and deal with the wind as it is the fitness of the riders.
Getting “Torn a New Ring”
This relates to a situation where right from the start you were under pressure, and although you managed to hang on, it was touch and go and you were under extreme duress for the whole ride.
Bill “How did the race go?”
Fred “Mate, I got torn a new ring.”
Bill “Hard then?”
Fred “Was hanging on by the skin of my arse for the whole 75km”
Getting “Shelled”
This relates to getting dropped (losing contact with the bunch) completely. Getting torn a new ring means you suffered with the bunch while not really being competitive, but being shelled means that you could not stick with the bunch at all.
Bill “How did the race go?”
Fred “I got shelled when we turned into the side wind.”
Bill “Couldn’t hang on?”
Fred “They closed down the road and I lasted about 3 min and I was gone”
Getting “A Sit”
This refers to being in the optimal place to get maximum protection from the wind. This is usually a few riders from the front and behind a person bigger than you. This position allows a rider to use very little energy to maintain the same pace as the bunch.
Commonly used either in the run in for the sprint “It was pretty straightforward, I had the perfect sit and just had to wait until I got close enough to start my sprint”. Or can be used to direct a struggling rider into a position where they will get a chance to recover “come in here and get a sit”.
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Half Wheeling
Half wheeling refers to the rider next to you constantly riding half a wheel in front of you when riding two-a-breast. As you try and level up, they keep lifting the pace until it is not sustainable.
Half wheeling is very much hated in cycling circles as it creates a tension when riding with others that is a real pain in the arse. Two half wheelers riding on the front together is the worst case scenario as it means the pace builds up to the point where they both blow up and then the process is repeated making it a very unpleasant ride for anyone.
Blowing Up
Blowing up refers to riding over your limit and then completely running out of puff. Aka “Dying in the arse”. Most likely to happen either up a climb, on the run in to the sprint or when an inexperienced rider does a turn on the front into the wind and then on “blowing up”, can’t get back on the back of the bunch and gets “shelled”.
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